Innovation Services

Iowa has fallen behind in responding to a world increasingly dependent on tech, from education to the economy. Iowa is in danger of being left behind if we don’t act. The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative, NewBoCo for short, is a nonprofit organization focused on making our community more resilient to a changing economy by supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and tech education.

We help entrepreneurs succeed here. We give founders an opportunity to network and present their ideas at 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids every Wednesday morning. We offer resources to help startups grow here through our Iowa Startup Accelerator and Iowa EdTech Accelerator. We run Eastern Iowa’s premier angel group, Corridor Angel Investors, which enables local startups to pitch to local investors. We bring together the best entrepreneurial and innovative minds at EntreFEST, a two-day conference where big ideas meet opportunity.

The best way to get plugged in to this ecosystem is to show up. Attend 1 Million Cups to meet the people who will help you succeed.

We help Iowans learn to code. We founded Iowa’s premier code school, DeltaV, which has introduced hundreds of adults to careers in code. In just two years, we’ve trained more than 300 teachers who have taught almost 12,000 K-12 students a computer science course for the first time through our partnership with Code.org. Still, most students in Iowa don’t have the opportunity to take these courses, but you can help.

Sponsor a teacher to get computer science training or recommend an educator in your community for this program.

We help existing organizations improve the way they work. We have provided trainings and workshops to more than 30 companies, nonprofits, and government entities in Cedar Rapids, the Corridor, Eastern Iowa, and across the state. We even created a free resource to help organizations figure out where to start on their innovation journey.

Take the free version of our Innovation Readiness Assessment.

You can make a difference now. No matter how or how much you can give, we have ways for you to make an impact in your community today.